The Technomancer

The Technomancer, a 2016 Action RPG, presents an interesting performance profile when paired with the Intel Core i5-12400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070. The benchmark data indicates a system that is overwhelmingly GPU-bound at higher resolutions, yet shows signs of CPU limitation at 1080p. This combination ranks in the top quarter of all tested configurations, placing 847th out of 3696 combos, making it a high-performing setup for this title, though the scaling curve reveals where its strengths and bottlenecks lie.

Resolution Scaling

The performance drop from 1080p to 4K is steep and consistent, clearly demonstrating that the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 is the primary limiting factor as resolution increases. At High settings, the average frame rate falls from 153 FPS at 1920x1080 to 100 FPS at 2560x1440, a reduction of 53 FPS. Moving to 3840x2160, the average drops further to 55 FPS, which is a 45 FPS decline from the 1440p result. This pattern shows that the GPU's rendering workload is scaling almost linearly with pixel count, leaving less headroom for the CPU to matter.

The scaling between Low and Ultra settings across resolutions reinforces this GPU-bound conclusion. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 233 FPS, but at 4K Low, it falls to 84 FPS. The delta between 1080p and 4K at Low settings is 149 FPS, which is a massive gap that only a GPU bottleneck can produce. When the settings are raised to Ultra, the 1080p average is 119 FPS, while the 4K average is 43 FPS, a difference of 76 FPS. The fact that even at Low settings the 4K frame rate is less than half of the 1080p rate suggests that the RTX 4070's raw pixel throughput is the ceiling.

The data indicates that at 1440p, the system is still comfortably GPU-bound, but the margin for CPU involvement begins to shrink. The 1440p High average of 100 FPS is a significant drop from the 1080p High average of 153 FPS, showing that the GPU is already working much harder. However, the 1440p Low average of 152 FPS is notably close to the 1080p High average of 153 FPS, which hints that the CPU might be starting to provide some support at these higher frame rates. This is a transitional zone where the balance shifts from being purely GPU-limited to a more balanced workload.

At 4K, the GPU is unquestionably the limiting component. The average frame rate at High settings is 55 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold often desired for smooth gameplay. Even dropping to Medium settings only yields 64 FPS, while Low settings provide 84 FPS. This suggests that to achieve higher frame rates at 4K, users must make significant sacrifices in visual quality, as the RTX 4070 simply does not have enough horsepower to maintain high detail levels at this resolution. The Intel Core i5-12400F is not the bottleneck here; the data shows a clear and direct correlation between resolution and performance that points entirely to the GPU.

Settings Recommendations

For the best balance of visual fidelity and performance, the Medium preset is the clear winner in this benchmark data. At 1920x1080, Medium delivers an average of 179 FPS, which is a substantial 26 FPS improvement over High settings (153 FPS) and only 54 FPS less than Low (233 FPS). The measured minimum frame rate at 1080p Medium is 152 FPS, which is still exceptionally high and indicates smooth gameplay without significant dips. This makes Medium the optimal choice for competitive or high-refresh-rate play at 1080p.

At 2560x1440, the Medium preset again provides the most compelling experience. The average frame rate is 117 FPS, with a measured minimum of 99 FPS and a maximum of 134 FPS. This is comfortably above the 100 FPS mark, offering a very responsive experience. While High settings at 1440p achieve 100 FPS on average, the Medium preset's higher minimum frame rate of 99 FPS versus the unmeasured minimum for High suggests better frame pacing stability. The Ultra preset at 1440p drops to 78 FPS, which is playable but does not offer the same level of fluidity as Medium.

For 4K gaming, the recommendations shift due to the GPU's limitations. The Ultra preset is essentially unplayable at 3840x2160, with an average of just 43 FPS. High settings are also marginal, averaging 55 FPS, which may be acceptable for slower-paced games but is not ideal. The Medium preset at 4K provides an average of 64 FPS, with a minimum of 55 FPS, which is the only preset that approaches a stable 60 FPS experience. However, the Low preset at 4K achieves 84 FPS, which is surprisingly high and suggests that for 4K play, lowering settings to Low is the only way to unlock the full potential of the display, sacrificing significant visual detail for performance.

The data shows a clear pattern: the Medium preset offers the best "sweet spot" across all resolutions. It provides a significant performance boost over High and Ultra settings while maintaining a much higher visual quality than Low. The measured minimum and maximum frame rates for Medium at each resolution are also the only ones recorded, indicating a more consistent frame delivery. For users prioritizing frame rate, Low is the fallback, but for the majority, Medium is the recommended setting to maximize the experience.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 is the dominant component in this pairing, and its specifications directly explain the measured performance in The Technomancer. The GPU features 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 504.2 GB/s. This memory configuration is sufficient for this game at all tested resolutions and settings, as evidenced by the consistent scaling from 1080p to 4K. The game does not appear to be hitting a VRAM capacity wall, as the performance drops are proportional to the increased rendering resolution rather than sudden crashes or stutters.

The clock speeds of the RTX 4070 are also a key factor. With a base clock of 1920 MHz and a boost clock of 2475 MHz, the GPU has a high operating frequency that contributes to its raw compute power. This is reflected in its FP32 performance of 29.15 TFLOPS. These high clocks allow the GPU to maintain strong performance even when the rendering workload increases, though the data shows that at 4K, the sheer number of pixels overwhelms this capability. The pixel rate of 158.4 GPixel/s and texture rate of 455.4 GTexel/s are the metrics that ultimately limit performance at high resolutions.

The GPU's architectural features, such as its 5888 shading units and 184 texture mapping units, are designed for high-throughput rendering. In The Technomancer, the benchmark results show that the RTX 4070 is operating at its limits when the resolution is set to 3840x2160. The difference between the 4K Low (84 FPS) and 4K High (55 FPS) averages shows that the GPU's shading units are scaling with the complexity of the shaders, but the pixel fill rate becomes the primary constraint. The GPU's percentile ranking of 81 versus all other GPUs indicates it is a high-end part, but this game's demands at 4K push it to its limits.

The GPU's performance relative to its nearest rivals is tight, with a delta of only 1.3% from the AMD Radeon PRO W6400 and 0.4% from the AMD Radeon RX Vega 56. This suggests that the RTX 4070's performance in this scenario is well-aligned with its synthetic benchmark scores, which average 37648. However, the actual gameplay data shows that the GPU is the primary driver of the frame rate drops seen at higher resolutions, confirming its role as the main bottleneck. The 200 W TDP and the 16-pin power connector are indicative of its power requirements, but the focus here is on its output, which is solid at 1080p and 1440p but struggles at 4K.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers exceptional performance across all presets. The Low preset achieves an average of 233 FPS, which is the highest recorded in the entire dataset. The Medium preset averages 179 FPS, with a minimum of 152 FPS and a maximum of 206 FPS, showing a wide but high range. The High preset averages 153 FPS, which is still incredibly smooth for most displays. The Ultra preset, while the most demanding, still manages an average of 119 FPS, proving that the RTX 4070 is more than capable of handling this game at 1080p with maximum settings.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance remains very strong, but the impact of the increased pixel count is evident. The Low preset drops to an average of 152 FPS, which is a significant 81 FPS decrease from the 1080p Low result. The Medium preset averages 117 FPS, with a minimum of 99 FPS and a maximum of 134 FPS, which is a solid result for high-refresh-rate 1440p gaming. The High preset averages 100 FPS, which is a 53 FPS drop from the 1080p High result. The Ultra preset falls to 78 FPS, which is still playable but shows the GPU is beginning to feel the strain.

At 3840x2160, the performance takes a significant hit, and the GPU becomes the clear limiting factor. The Low preset averages 84 FPS, which is surprisingly high for 4K and indicates that the game is not particularly demanding at lower settings. The Medium preset averages 64 FPS, with a minimum of 55 FPS and a maximum of 74 FPS, which is the only 4K preset that provides a near-60 FPS experience. The High preset drops to 55 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS target. The Ultra preset averages just 43 FPS, which is not smooth enough for most action games. The data shows a clear and consistent trend of performance degradation as resolution increases, with the most dramatic drops occurring between 1440p and 4K.

The measured minimum frame rates at Medium settings provide additional insight. At 1080p, the minimum is 152 FPS, while at 1440p it is 99 FPS, and at 4K it is 55 FPS. These minimums are all relatively close to their respective averages, indicating that the frame delivery is stable without major stutters. This consistency is a positive sign for the overall gaming experience, as it suggests the CPU is not causing any frame pacing issues. The maximum frame rates also scale proportionally, from 206 FPS at 1080p to 134 FPS at 1440p and 74 FPS at 4K, further confirming the GPU-bound nature of the system at higher resolutions.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i5-12400F and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 ranks 847th out of 3696 tested combos in The Technomancer. This places it in the top 23% of all configurations, which is a strong showing for a mid-range CPU paired with a high-end GPU. The rank indicates that this system outperforms the vast majority of other setups tested for this game, making it a high-performance pairing. The data is measured, not estimated, which adds credibility to its positioning.

The CPU's individual benchmark scores provide context for its contribution to this rank. The Intel Core i5-12400F has a percentile ranking of 73 versus all other CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 19039. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen 5 7535HS with a delta of 0%, and the Intel Core i5-1335U with a delta of 0.3%. This shows that the CPU is a solid, mid-range performer that does not significantly hold back the GPU in most scenarios. The GPU, on the other hand, has a percentile ranking of 81 versus all other GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 37648.

The combo rank of 847 suggests that the RTX 4070 is the primary driver of the system's high placement. The GPU's performance is strong enough to place the system in the top quarter, and the CPU is adequate to support it. The fact that the rank is not higher (e.g., in the top 100) can be attributed to the CPU's relative performance level. While the i5-12400F is capable, it is not a top-tier processor like some of the higher-ranked combos might feature. The data suggests that in CPU-light scenarios, this combo excels, but in games that heavily utilize multi-threading, the CPU could become more of a bottleneck.

Given the game's release date in 2016, it is likely not heavily optimized for multi-core processors. This works in the favor of the i5-12400F, which has 6 cores and 12 threads. The combo's rank of 847 out of 3696 confirms the RTX 4070's raw power, which can overcome the CPU's mid-range standing. For a user with a 1080p or 1440p monitor, this combo ranks exceptionally high in terms of real-world gaming performance, as evidenced by the measured frame rates. The ranking confirms that this is a well-balanced system for this title, with the GPU providing the majority of the performance headroom.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12400F plays a supporting role in this configuration, and its specifications show that it is more than sufficient for The Technomancer. With 6 cores and 12 threads, the CPU has a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz. This boost clock is critical for gaming performance, as it allows the CPU to respond quickly to single-threaded workloads. In synthetic benchmarks, the CPU scores 1680 in Cinebench R23 single-core and 909 in 3DMark single-thread, indicating strong single-thread performance that is essential for older game engines.

The CPU's multi-threaded capabilities are also adequate, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 12380 and a Geekbench multi-core score of 9472. These scores show that the CPU can handle multiple tasks simultaneously, but the game's performance data suggests that it is not heavily taxed. The measured FPS at 1080p Low (233 FPS) is high, but the fact that it drops to 152 FPS at 1440p Low indicates that the GPU is the limiting factor, not the CPU. If the CPU were the bottleneck, we would expect to see similar frame rates across resolutions at Low settings, which is not the case.

The CPU's 18 MB of shared L3 cache is a significant resource for gaming, as it helps to reduce memory latency. This is reflected in the CPU's PassMark scores, such as 233327 for data compression and 59995 for integer math. These scores suggest that the CPU is capable of handling the game's logic and physics without causing frame drops. The fact that the measured minimum frame rates at Medium settings are close to the averages (e.g., 152 FPS minimum vs. 179 FPS average at 1080p) indicates that the CPU is providing consistent frame delivery without stutters.

The CPU's performance relative to its nearest rivals is very close, with a delta of only 0.1% from the Intel Core 3 201E and 0.3% from the AMD EPYC 7773X. This shows that the i5-12400F is a solid, mid-range processor that performs as expected. In The Technomancer, its role is to feed the RTX 4070 with enough data to keep it busy. At 1080p, the CPU is able to push frame rates high enough to expose the GPU's limits, but at 4K, the GPU's rendering time is so long that the CPU has ample time to prepare frames, making its performance less critical. The data shows that the CPU is not a bottleneck in this game, and its 65 W TDP suggests it runs efficiently, allowing the GPU to take center stage in determining the final frame rate.